Adjustable drill support

ABSTRACT

A rotary drill head assembly is mounted for travel along the support columns of an earth boring machine. The support columns are connected to the base of the machine by hinge connections including hinge pins. Brace members extend between the base and the support columns. The rotary drill head assembly rotates a rotary drill string to form an earth borehole. Thrust cylinders connected between the support columns and the drill head apply axial thrust forces to the drill head assembly to move the drill string through the formations resulting in axial thrust loads being applied to the support columns. A convex arcuate friction surface on the end of each support column fits within a matching concave arcuate friction surface on the base of the machine to transmit a portion of the axial thrust loads from said support columns to said base.

United States Patent [191 Dyer [451 Dec. 24, 1974 ADJUSTABLE DRILLSUPPORT [75] Inventor: Norman Dean Dyer, Beaumont, Tex.

[73] Assignee: Dresser Industries, Inc., Dallas, Tex.

[22] Filed: Oct. 3, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 403,126

[52] U.S. C1. 173/39 [51] Int. Cl. E2lc 11/00 [58] Field of Search173/39-44; 175/5, 7, 9, 85; 2l4/2.5

[56] 5 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,504,441 8/1924 Gehrandt173/44 2,162,553 6/1939 Hirschberg 173/42 2,692,756 10/1954 Lincoln173/39 3,539,024 11/1970 lrons 175/9 3,650,339 3/1972 Selfe et al.175/85 3,780,816 12/1973 Arringlon et al. 173/39 Primary Examiner-JamesA. Leppink Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Eddie E. Scott [57] ABSTRACT Arotary drill head assembly is mounted for travel along the supportcolumns of an earth boring machine. The support columns are connected tothe'base of the machine by hinge connections including hinge pins. Bracemembers extend between the base and the support columns. The rotarydrill head assembly rotates a rotary drill string to form an earthborehole. Thrust cylinders connected between the support columns and thedrill head apply axial thrust forces to the drill head assembly to movethe drill string through the formations resulting in axial thrust loadsbeing applied to the support columns. A convex arcuate friction surfaceon the end of each support column fits within a matching concave arcuatefriction surface on the base of the machine to transmit a portion of theaxial thrust loads from said support columns to said base.

6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures ,dzs

ADJUSTABLE DRILL SUPPORT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION mally been a pinand the pin had to carry both up and down thrust loads as well ashorizontal loads due to the drilling angle and torque on the drill pipe.In order to accommodate the large thrust loads, it has been necessary touse large pins and position the pins a relatively large distance abovethe base member.

The present invention has particular utility in raise drilling; however,its use is not restricted thereto. Raise drilling is an operation thatproceeds by the drilling of a relatively small diameter pilot hole andthe subse quent enlargement of the pilot hole into a relatively largediameter hole by a reaming operation. Earth boring machines used forraise drilling encounter relatively small axial thrust loads during thedrilling of the pilot hole. When the pilot hole is being enlarged into alarge diameter hole the earth boring machine encounters much largeraxial thrust loads. In order to accommodate the large axial thrust loadsencountered during the reaming operation the prior art earth boringmachines have used large pivot pins spaced a relatively large dis tanceabove the base.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART In US. Pat. No. 3,563,322, to J. W. Young etal., patented Feb. 16. 1971, a system for erecting and changing theposition of the drill column of an earth boring machine is shown. Thedrill assembly'is held in place by supports pivotally mounted upon abase. Brace means are attached to the supports which hold the drillassembly in position. Linkages may be attached to the drill assembly andthe brace means removed. Movement of the main thrust cylinder in thedrill assembly causes the support means and consequently the drillcolumn to change position. The support members may again be put in placeto hold the drill column in position.

In US. Pat. No. 3,220,494, to R. E. Cannon et al., patented Nov. 30,I965, a raise drilling machine is shown. The machine drills a smalldiameter hole to another level and enlarges the small diameter hole intoa large diameter hole by a reaming operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION base by hinge connections that include hingepins and by braces that extend between the base and the support columns.The hinge pins transmit a portion of the axial thrust loads from thesupport columns to the base. A friction surface means on the end of eachof the support columns engages a matching friction surface means on thebase to transmit a portion of the axial thrust loads from the supportcolumns to the base. The above and other features and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the invention when taken inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side-elevational view ofan earth boring machine constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the earth boringmachine shown in FIG. 1 taken substantially along line 2-2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An earth boring machine generallydesignated by the reference number 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A pairof support columns 11 and 12 are pivotally connected to the machine base13 by a pair of hinge pins 14 and 15. A convex arcuate surface 16connected to support column 11 rests within a matching concave arcuatesurface 17 on base 13. A convex arcuate surface 18 connected to supportcolumn 12 rests within a matching concave arcuate surface 19 on base 13.Hinge pins 14 and 15 extend from the support columns 11 and 12 intoupstanding support frames 29 and 30 respectively extending from base 13.A brace 20 extends between support column 11 and base 13. Brace 20 ispinned to the base 13 by a pin 21 and is pinned to the support column 11by a pin 22. A substantially identical brace (not shown) extends betweensupport column 12 and base 13.

A frame 23 projects outward from the support columns 11 and 12. A drillhead 27 is mounted on a traveling carriage 26. The carriage 26 isadapted to travel along the support columns 11 and 12. A hydraulicthrust cylinder 24 is connected to the carriage 26 and drill head 27.The piston rod 25 of the hydraulic cylinder 24 is connected to'the frame23. A substantially identical hydraulic cylinder (not shown) is mountedon the opposite side of the carriage 26 and drill head 27 and isconnected to frame 23. A motor 28 is mounted on the drill head 27 toprovide the rotary force for rotating a rotary drill string through asuitable gearing unit 31.

The structural details of an earth boring machine constructed inaccordance with the present invention having been described, theoperation of the machine will now be considered. The machine 10 istransported to the drill site. in a collapsed position. The brace 20 isremoved and the columns 11 and 12 are rotated about pins 14 and 15 untilthe columns 11 and 12 are substantially parallel to the base 13. Theconvex arcuate friction surfaces 16 and 18 will turn in the matchingconcave arcuate friction surfaces 17 and 19. Once the earth boringmachine 10 arrives at the drill site, the,

An actuating fluid is delivered to the hydraulic cylinders and thepiston rods are moved outward thereby causing the carriage to moveupward along the support columns 11 and 12 carrying the motor 28,gearing unit 31 and drill head 27 therewith. A section of drill rod isconnected to the drill head 27 and the earth boring machine is ready foroperation. A rotary rock bit is connected to the drill rod and the bitis rotated and moved through the formations. An actuating fluid isapplied to the hydraulic cylinders to force the piston rods to movetoward their retracted position thereby applying a downward thrust forceto the drill string. This operation is referred to as pilot holedrilling.

The reaction thrust force resulting from pilot hole drilling isrelatively small. This reaction thrust force is transmitted from thepiston rods of the thrust cylinders to the frame 23 and the supportcolumns 11 and 12.-

The reaction thrust force tends to force the drill head 27, gearing unit31, motor 28, carriage 26, the thrust cylinders, frame 23, and supportcolumns 11 and 12 upward. The reaction thrust force is transmitted fromthe support columns 11 and 12 through pins 14 and 15 'to the supportbraces 29 and connected to the base 13. Since the magnitude of thereaction thrust force is small during pilot hole drilling and becausethe weight of the drill head 27, gearing unit 31, motor 28, carriage 26,the thrust cylinders, frame 23, and support columns 11 and 12 is actingagainst the reaction thrust force the pins 14 and 15 may be relativelysmall.

Additional drill rods are added to the drill string during the pilotdrilling operation as the pilot hole penetrates deeper into the earth.This procedure is continued until a small diameter pilot hole has beencompleted to another level of the mine. The small diameter pilot bit isremoved and a large diameter raise bit is connected to the drill string.The raise bit is then rotated and moved through the formations along thepilot hole to form the large diameter raise hole. Actuating fluid isdelivered to the hydraulic cylinders moving the piston rods toward theextended position thereby applying an axial thrust force to the raisebit. Since the raise bit is a substantially larger bit than the pilotbit, a substantially greater reaction thrust force will be applied tothe earth boring machine. The reaction force is downward and the weightof the drill head 27, gearing unit 31, motor 28, carriage 26, the thrustcylinders, frame 23 and support columns add to the reaction thrust forceduring the reaming operation. This reaction thrust force is transmittedfrom the piston rods to the frame 23 and the support columns 11 and 12.The reaction thrust force is transmitted from the support columns 11 and12 to the base 13 through the convex arcuate friction surfaces 16 and 18that rest in the concave arcuate friction surfaces 17 and 19. Thefriction surfaces l6, l7, l8 and 19 will support a reaction force ofsubstantial magnitude. From the foregoing it will be appreciated thatrelatively small pins 14 and 15 may be used since they need support onlythe reaction force during pilot hole drilling.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An earth boring machine, comprising: base means for supporting saidmachine,

at least one support member extending out from said base means,

drilling means that travel along said support member for providingdrilling forces,

hinge means for rotatably connecting said support member to said basemeans, said hinge means being a pin connection,

brace means connecting said support member and said base means,

a friction surface means on said base means, said friction surface meanson said base means being a curved surface immediately below said supportmember with said curved surface on said base means being a concavesurface, and

a friction surface means connected to said support member proximate saidfriction surface means on said base means for contacting said frictionsurface means on said base means, said friction surface means connectedto said support member being a curved surface positioned on the end ofsaid support member with said curved surface connected to said supportmember being a convex surface;

2. An earth boring machine for drilling by rotation of a rotary drillstring, comprising:

machine base means for supporting said machine,

a support column extending upward from said machine base means,

a rotary drive assembly mounted for travel along said support column forrotating the rotary drill string,

pin connection means for rotatably connecting saidv support column tosaid machine base means, and

brace means connected to said support column for holding said supportcolumn in position for drilling.

3. In an earth boring machine for drilling by the rotation of a rotarydrill string and the transmission of axial thrust forces to said rotarydrill string, said machine having a base, at least one support columnand drilling means for applying rotational and axial thrust forces tosaid drill string thereby applying axial thrust loads to said supportcolumn, the improvement comprising:

a hinge connection between said support column and said base, said hingeconnection including a pin that transmits a portion of said axial thrustloads from said support column to said base,

a first friction surface on said support column, said first frictionsurface on said support column being a convex arcuate surface on the endof said support column, and

a second friction surface on said base proximate said first frictionsurface on said support. column, said second friction surface being aconcave arcuate surface on said base that receives said convex arcuatesurface on the end of said support column, said first and secondfriction surfaces adapted to engage to transmit a portion of the axialthrust loads from said support column to said base.

4. An earth boring machine, comprising:

base means for supporting said machine,

a pair of support columns projecting from said base means,

hinge means rotatably connecting said support columns to said basemeans,

brace means extending from said support columns to said base means,

a drilling assembly mounted for travel along said support columns,

force means for moving said drilling assembly along said supportcolumns,

a convex arcuate friction surface on each support column, and

concave arcuate friction surfaces on said base means proximate saidconvex arcuate friction surface on each support column.

5. An earth boring machine, comprising:

base means for supporting said machine,

at least one support member extending out from said base means,

drilling means that travel along said support member for providingdrilling forces,

hinge means for rotatably connecting said support member to said basemeans, said hinge means being a pin construction,

brace means connecting said support member and.

member proximate said friction surface means on said base means forcontacting said friction surface means on said base means, said frictionsurface means connected to said support member being a curved surfacepositioned on the end of said support member with said curved surfaceconnected to said support member being a concave surface.

6. In an earth boring machine for drilling by the rotation of a rotarydrill string and the transmission of axial thrust forces to said rotarydrill string, said machine having a base, at least one support columnand drilling means for applying rotational and axial thrust forces tosaid drill string thereby applying axial thrust loads to said supportcolumn, the improvementcomprising:

a hinge connection between said support column and said base, saidhinge'connection including a pin that transmits a portion of said axialthrust loads from said support column to said base,

a first friction surface on said support column, said first frictionsurface on said support column being a concave arcuate surface on theend of said support column, and

a second friction surface on said base proximate said first frictionsurface on said support column, said second friction surface being aconvex arcuate surface on said base that receives said concave arcuatesurface on the end of said support column, said first and secondfriction surfaces adapted to engage to transmit a portion of the axialthrust loads from said support column to said base.

1. An earth boring machine, comprising: base means for supporting said machine, at least one support member extending out from said base means, drilling means that travel along said support member for providing drilling forces, hinge means for rotatably connecting said support member to said base means, said hinge means being a pin connection, brace means connecting said support member and said base means, a friction surface means on said base means, said friction surface means on said base means being a curved surface immediately below said support member with said curved surface on said base means being a concave surface, and a friction surface means connected to said support member proximate said friction Surface means on said base means for contacting said friction surface means on said base means, said friction surface means connected to said support member being a curved surface positioned on the end of said support member with said curved surface connected to said support member being a convex surface.
 2. An earth boring machine for drilling by rotation of a rotary drill string, comprising: machine base means for supporting said machine, a support column extending upward from said machine base means, a rotary drive assembly mounted for travel along said support column for rotating the rotary drill string, force means connected between said support column and said drive assembly for moving said rotary drive assembly along said support column, a convex surface on the lower end of said support column, a concave surface on said machine base means proximate the convex surface on said support column, pin connection means for rotatably connecting said support column to said machine base means, and brace means connected to said support column for holding said support column in position for drilling.
 3. In an earth boring machine for drilling by the rotation of a rotary drill string and the transmission of axial thrust forces to said rotary drill string, said machine having a base, at least one support column and drilling means for applying rotational and axial thrust forces to said drill string thereby applying axial thrust loads to said support column, the improvement comprising: a hinge connection between said support column and said base, said hinge connection including a pin that transmits a portion of said axial thrust loads from said support column to said base, a first friction surface on said support column, said first friction surface on said support column being a convex arcuate surface on the end of said support column, and a second friction surface on said base proximate said first friction surface on said support column, said second friction surface being a concave arcuate surface on said base that receives said convex arcuate surface on the end of said support column, said first and second friction surfaces adapted to engage to transmit a portion of the axial thrust loads from said support column to said base.
 4. An earth boring machine, comprising: base means for supporting said machine, a pair of support columns projecting from said base means, hinge means rotatably connecting said support columns to said base means, brace means extending from said support columns to said base means, a drilling assembly mounted for travel along said support columns, force means for moving said drilling assembly along said support columns, a convex arcuate friction surface on each support column, and concave arcuate friction surfaces on said base means proximate said convex arcuate friction surface on each support column.
 5. An earth boring machine, comprising: base means for supporting said machine, at least one support member extending out from said base means, drilling means that travel along said support member for providing drilling forces, hinge means for rotatably connecting said support member to said base means, said hinge means being a pin construction, brace means connecting said support member and said base means, a friction surface means on said base means, said friction surface means on said base means being a curved surface immediately below said support member with said curved surface on said base means being a convex surface, and a friction surface means connected to said support member proximate said friction surface means on said base means for contacting said friction surface means on said base means, said friction surface means connected to said support member being a curved surface positioned on the end of said support member with said curved surface connected to said support member being a concave suRface.
 6. In an earth boring machine for drilling by the rotation of a rotary drill string and the transmission of axial thrust forces to said rotary drill string, said machine having a base, at least one support column and drilling means for applying rotational and axial thrust forces to said drill string thereby applying axial thrust loads to said support column, the improvement comprising: a hinge connection between said support column and said base, said hinge connection including a pin that transmits a portion of said axial thrust loads from said support column to said base, a first friction surface on said support column, said first friction surface on said support column being a concave arcuate surface on the end of said support column, and a second friction surface on said base proximate said first friction surface on said support column, said second friction surface being a convex arcuate surface on said base that receives said concave arcuate surface on the end of said support column, said first and second friction surfaces adapted to engage to transmit a portion of the axial thrust loads from said support column to said base. 